Syria: Trapped, under attack and struggling to survive in Aleppo

28 July 2016

MSF

Aleppo in April 2013.

Amman, Jordan – Fighting has intensified over the past three weeks and the long-suffering people of Aleppo city are bearing the brunt of the devastation. Continuous aerial attacks pound the east of the city, while shelling strikes the west, causing many casualties and injuries.

The siege on east Aleppo has left an estimated 250,000 people trapped and struggling to survive, with the only road into non-government held areas cut off. Now the population, and crucially the war-wounded and seriously ill, have no way out, while vital food and medical supplies cannot get in. This siege has added more to the already woeful numbers of people living in besieged areas in Syria.

Meanwhile, hospitals are buckling under the pressure, from both physical attack and dwindling supplies. Four hospitals that MSF provides with much-needed medical supplies were damaged by the bombing this week alone.

One of these hospitals, which specialises in general and vascular surgery, was already hit one month ago and forced to close. MSF supported the emergency rehabilitation of the facility that reopened two weeks ago. Just days after, on 23 July, an airstrike on the building next door damaged the hospital again. The staff began referring patients to another hospital that was also hit shortly after. During the first minutes of chaos, the two hospitals were referring patients to each other while simultaneously being struck.

“If the attacks on health facilities do not stop, soon there will be no more medical services available in east Aleppo.”

“Hospital managers have told us that the number of wounded they have been treating over the past month have risen sharply. One of these hospitals was receiving up to 50 wounded per day and last week it was hit and forced to close. Now where will these people go? How will the materials and equipment to rebuild the facility get through?” asks Pablo Marco, MSF Middle East Operations Manager. “If the attacks on health facilities do not stop, soon there will be no more medical services available in east Aleppo. It’s not just the hospitals that are under threat – fuel shortages, that will only worsen in the weeks to come, will mean that ambulances won’t be able to run.”

The few remaining doctors and surgeons in east Aleppo are struggling to care for hundreds of thousands of people in dire need. In addition, the injured and sick, and medical staff are terrified of going to health facilities. The medical staff are afraid for how long their supplies will last and if they will even be able to continue functioning at all, given the continuous attacks.

“We once again demand the warring parties respect the rules of war, and that those who have influence on them stop this carnage. The message is clear: stop bombing hospitals and civilian infrastructures, allow the severely sick and wounded to be evacuated, and do not cut the supply of food, drugs and vital goods into the city”, says Marco.

MSF runs six medical facilities across northern Syria and supports more than 150 health centres and hospitals across the country, many of them in besieged areas.